A significant part of the loss of human function in aging may be due to the build-up of damaged proteins. Proteins, responsible for most of the catalytic and structural operations of the body, can spontaneously break down with time. As organisms age, proteins can accumulate enough chemical damage to become inactivated, or even toxic. The success of aging organisms may depend upon their ability to first recognize which proteins are damaged, and then to either repair or remove these species. In this proposal, we want to understand how organisms integrate protein repair and proteolytic pathways to stem the accumulation of damaged proteins. We are particularly interested in how a major type of spontaneous damage, the isomerization and racemization of protein aspartyl and asparaginyl residues, is minimized by a combination of molecular repair initiated by the L-isoaspartyl-(D-aspartyl) protein O- methyltransferase enzyme and specific proteolytic degradation reactions. We propose to use mice, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), and nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) as model systems. Each of these systems has advantages to aid us in deciphering the pathways that may also be used in humans. We will first examine the links between protein repair and proteolysis pathways in mice. We will focus on pathways used in animals lacking the protein repair methyltransferase. We have previously established that the accumulation of damaged aspartyl residues in repair deficient mice levels off after about 60 days of age. At the same time, the levels of damaged peptides in the urine of the mice increases, suggesting that a proteolytic system to remove the unrepaired proteins is activated. We propose to characterize this back-up system and to find its role in the normal aging process. We will then examine the metabolism of proteins containing damaged aspartyl residues in the yeast S. cerevisiae that lacks the protein repair methyltransferase. We have shown that proteins containing damaged aspartyl residues do not accumulate in yeast, although they appear to be formed at the same rate as in other organisms. We thus propose that yeast have specific proteolytic systems to prevent the accumulation of these altered proteins and will characterize them by a combination of biochemical and genetic approaches. Finally, we will compare the repair/proteolysis responses of mice to those that occur in aging worms. Previous work in our laboratory has suggested that proteolysis may be coupled to protein repair in the nematode C. elegans. We will characterize worms deficient in the L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase, focusing on two larval stages of worms that are specialized for survival and that appear to be most affected in the absence of the repair enzyme. Similarities in repair, signaling, and proteolysis systems in worms and mice suggest that what we learn here will be important for human health. 7. PROJECT NARRATIVE We want to understand how human cells can perform molecular repair and replacement processes that contribute to healthy aging and how defects in these pathways lead to disease. Protein molecules essential for body functions are continuously being degraded by spontaneous chemical processes. Unless damaged molecules are repaired or replaced, their accumulation can slow or stop normal physiological functions.